Aloha, 17 Years

by Emily

I hope that all my readers who celebrate had a merry Christmas!

Three fun things from this week –

I bought chestnut paste – which basically tastes like Christmas! – and used it in amazing yogurt bowls.

With cocoa granola and fresh strawberries.

These bougie almond butter cups were surprisingly delicious.

We made easy but great pasta bowls: boxed macaroni and cheese / canned smoked trout and anchovies / roasted broccoli and baby zucchini / topped with Kewpie and Sriracha. Plus a side of sauteed baby cauliflower.

Current excitement? It is our 12 year wedding anniversary today! And since we got married on our 5 year dating anniversary, that means we’ve been together for 17 years (aka half our lives!)!! To celebrate, we are heading to Hawaii tomorrow!!!

23Dec2019

Coffee Shops And Christmas Pop Ups

by Emily

Adam and I had such a fun weekend! We ate all of the things and saw a million twinkly lights. Sooooooo many holiday pop up bars and holiday themed coffees!!

Holiday things – – –

Ample Hills‘ chocolate peppermint ice cream with white chocolate peppermint bark. It was insane topped with marshmallow fluff!

Maman‘s holiday cookie latte with eggnog ganache.

Stumptown‘s rum raisin latte. <– most exciting latte of the weekend

Leyenda‘s Sleyenda pop up. They have by far the most exciting and intentional pop up menu but unfortunately it was slammed while we were there and we only wanted to hang for one drink. I had a delicious coquito with espolon reposado tequila, oloroso sherry, Braulio, coconut liqueur, coconut, cinnamon, and egg.

Loreley Beer Garden‘s Winter Wonderland pop up. Spiked eggnog with Captain Morgan, whipped cream, nutmeg, and caramel + boozy black and white hot chocolate with bourbon and toasted marshmallows. <– best holiday cocktails of the weekend

The Springs‘ Ho Ho Holiday Lounge pop up. Nog Yourself Out – Mt Gay black barrel aged rum, eggnog, oregeat, and nutmeg + Hot Springs – Cruzan blackstrap rum, hot chocolate, malt, and mini marshmallows.

The lights in Dyker Heights were so wonderful!

But the decorations at Chelsea Market remain my favorite New York holiday thing!

Things that aren’t festive but were still fun – – –

A trip to White Noise‘s Brooklyn location. We had a scrambled egg sandwich on brioche with cheddar, sun-dried tomato, and plum mayo.

Rose Wolf in Williamsburg is the cutest newish coffee shop. And we had the best cake and coffee. An extremely caffeinated and sugared cold brew with espresso, maple, caramel, cinnamon, and foamed milk + a chocolate funfetti cake.

A cute and yummy sparkling lime hibiscus tea.

Cookies and cream cookie with caramelized white chocolate from Mah Ze Dahr.

Sour cream and brown sugar strawberry ice cream with lemon jam and black walnuts from Morganstern’s.

Ramona is our favorite cocktail bar at the moment! Vivian Darkbloom – charcoal mezcal, pineapple, mint, lime, Falernum, and lime bitters + Cloudbursting Daiquiri – Flor de Caña 4 year rum, passionfruit, lime, and grated cinnamon.

New Yorkers, Chuko makes the best ramen in the city! And their chili oil is amazing.

The veggie dumplings at East Wind Snack Shop are next level delicious. Crispy, chewy, plump, and topped with a ginger scallion sauce.

I love NY – – –

25Nov2019

Fluffy GBS

by Emily

I don’t have a ton of photos to share from last week because I ate a bunch of celebratory meals sans camera. By the time I leave for real next week it is going to feel fairly anticlimactic!

A work friend and I went out for drinks at Vitae {highlights include a maple cinnamon sour with smoked rum}.

A big group of co-workers took me out for lunch at Asado {highlights include a smoked chicken quesadilla}.

And my team took me out for dinner at Junction {highlights include a rum and coke with allspice syrup and charred baby carrots with goat cheese and carrot top chimichurri}.

Other highlights include…

Eggnog and coffee!

A vanilla coffee can with a peanut butter chocolate chip Perfect Bar.

The cortadito from Gaurijos is excellent.

Vanilla bean yogurt with maple pecan granola and cranberry relish.

S’mores pie and a cortado at Pie Chest.

An orange creamsicle IPA my family brought me back from Maryland.

Hardywood has released their Fluffy GBS – a toasted marshmallow gingerbread stout!

My cousin took me out for excellent Thai food. My drunken noodles were super spicy and loaded with veggies (including cauliflower!).

Have a great week (and a happy Thanksgiving, all of my American readers)!

10Sep2019

A New York Weekend

by Emily

I spent a long weekend visiting my boys in New York and had the best time ever! I walked a ton, caught up with friends, ate all the things, slept with Webster pressed up against my ribs, and got to hold my husband’s hand while we talked about his new gig – perfect!

Highlights included…

A 7 mile walk down through Chelsea and across the bridge into Williamsburg.

Iced lattes! Terremoto and Cafe Leon Dore.

Danish chocolate cinnamon swirl at Ole and Steen.

Brunch with a former coworker at Penelope. I love taking people there because they are always blown away by how cute it is. And my croissant sandwich with scrambled eggs, cheddar, and pesto was delicious.

Lunch at the new Xi’an Town. Cold fried hand ripped noodles with veggies plus cucumber salad.

Dinner with friends at Gertie. I had the blue plate special – rotisserie chicken, local green beans, and schmaltzy fried potatoes.

A half pound pink velvet cookie stuffed with cream cheese frosting from City Cakes.

The best thing we ate all weekend = ice cream from Spoons. Vanilla soft serve blended with sprinkles and Fruity Pebbles and topped with torched marshmallow!

15Jul2019

Convenience Foods And Cocktails

by Emily

It was not a super exciting weekend for me – Adam was out of town and I worked on Sunday. I spent my single day off on errands and chores around the house. On the meal front I was all about snacks, convenience foods, and cocktails.

Highlights…

Iced coffee with vanilla bean powder.

Perfect Bar comes in cookie dough flavor!! <– I’m not sure if this flavor is very old or very new but oddly I cannot find a single mention of it on their site or the internet in general

Polar unicorn kisses seltzer. I am obsessed with these fantasy-themed mini cans.

Am I determined to try every existing variety of pimento cheese before I leave the South? Yes. Northerners, take note – this variety from Trader Joe’s is not very good; pimento dip should not be homogeneous but should have individual shreds of cheese.

On the other hand, these (vegan!) mini marshmallows are vanilla-y perfection.

Still in love with these chicken and waffle chips.

Spicy ramen + agua fresca cerveza.

A not very good frozen meal + a quite good rum and coke (with Vitae golden rum and tons of fresh lime).

12Jul2019

Local Love

by Emily

Highlights from this week – my in-laws are in town and we had fun showing them Charlottseville one last time // we had some great dinners out, including a new spot that’s a new favorite // Wissotzky Tea Company – an international, family-owned tea company based in Israel with offices in London and the United States – sent me some of their inventive flavors to try…

Coffee for the week: Trader Joe’s espresso blend with sweetened condensed milk.

Tea samples; their four newest, spiciest flavors: Ginger and Turmeric Spiced Chai, Pumpkin Spiced Chai, Salted Caramel Chai, Spiced Nana Mint Chai. I cold-brewed my cups per the company’s instructions – a ratio of 4 cups cold water to 5 tea bags, covered in the fridge for 15-36 hours.

Salted Caramel Chai with a splash half and half (added post picture).

Spiced Nana Mint Chai with sugar and fresh lime. <– fair warning, this flavor was too peppery for Adam’s tastes

Tropical flavors from the Mexican ice cream place down the street: passionfruit, guava, and mamey!

Plus I picked up these super interesting gummy candies. They have milk in them and the texture is extra soft and very unique.

Roasted green beans and TJ’s turkey corn dogs. Apparently I love corn dogs, I couldn’t stop raving about how tasty these were!

Sheet pan hash: potatoes, onion, bell pepper, shredded brussel sprouts, and maple chicken breakfast sausage.

Smoked Kitchen and Tap: a bbq spot we love in Crozet. I had smoked turkey, cole slaw, and creamed corn with smoked jalopeno.

The Local: an amazing spot in Bellmont. I had the best, most Southern plate – buttermilk-brined fried chicken with pimento cheese mac and cheese, collard greens, and house made hot sauce and a buttermilk-chive drizzle.

Modern Nosh: a newish, super cute deli (which means I finally have a deli in Charlottesville!).

I had a half turkey reuben and soup with the best matzoh ball of my life.

Plus we split latkes that were wonderfully full of garlic. Yum!

6Jun2019

Weekend Warrior

by Emily

Last weekend we visited my family at their cabin in Solomon Island Maryland. We got to see my dad, Webster went swimming, we ate crab cakes and rum and cokes… it was a perfect visit.

This weekend I’ll be taking another trip. I’m working a half day today and then heading to Charlotte, North Carolina for a nutrition support conference.

Five highlights from this week…

{1} Coffees in cans. All three were good but the Madrinas vanilla cappuccino was my favorite.

{2} Pie mixed in yogurt is my favorite dessert iteration. And this combo was such a winner – Siggi’s guava and leftover key lime pie from the weekend.

{3} Snow Cone Pouch! In birthday cake! The texture and flavor were both great, I highly recommend snagging one of these if you spot them.

{4} Whole Foods hot bar dinner. Thai green bean salad // baked beans // macaroni and cheese // steamed broccoli // tofu // orange chicken // Asian cabbage salad.

{5} Chicken and rice soup.

31May2019

Berries In My Sandwich And My Beer

by Emily

Five fun things from this week…

{1} Blanchard’s holiday blend coffee with sweetened condensed milk. And the next day I made a shakerato!

{2} A duo of fruity ales. I did not care for the tea taste of the Suncrush but the Troegs bosenberry tart ale was super interesting and packed with flavor.